We have completed an initial on the NIR Raman spectroscopy of muscular arteries using 830 nm excitation. Normal arteries exhibit peaks due to mainly proteins. In the atherosclerotic lesions, lipid, and calcium minerals exhibit intense vibrationla bands. The tissue spectra have been modeled in terms of seven biochemical components spectroscopically observable in the tissue. The quantitative value of various histochemical components extracted from the tissue spectra have been used to stage the atherosclerotic disease progression. The spectroscopic staging is in good agreement with semi quantitative histopathology used to stage atherosclerosis disease. In vivo studies will be conducted with modified fiber optic probes, which are under intensive research.